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Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner

Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner

Attention: Application deadline is May 31st

Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner

Texas A&M Texarkana is pleased to announce the Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Program.  There are two tracks for the PMHNP program, post-MSN and BSN to MSN. 

Both tracks are offered in a hybrid manner to incorporate face-to-face time with A&M-Texarkana faculty, including evaluation of clinical skills. The didactic portion of the curriculum will be offered online as both synchronous and asynchronous learning to assist students who are working while pursuing an advanced degree. Clinical immersion days will be scheduled prior to the beginning of each semester to allow students adequate time to arrange their personal schedules. The on-site immersion dates will allow for faculty to build stronger relationships with students and will also assist with mentoring, academic coaching, and clarification of any concerns or issues.

PMHNP students will be provided quality clinical rotation sites.  If the student has a desired preceptor, this will be discussed with faculty.

All graduates will be academically and experientially qualified to seek national board certification as a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner through the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). The program will be assessed based on the certification pass rates as part of the Systematic Program Evaluation (SPE) plan and CCNE Standards.

Apply to A&M-Texarkana   |   Contact Us


PMHNP and FNP Informational Sessions

Come and go Zoom sessions available at 7pm on the following dates:

  • May 2nd
  • May 16th
  • May 30th

For Zoom link and password, email jdurand@tamut.edu.


Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Program Learning Outcomes:

Upon completion of the PMHNP program, the students will:

  1. Integrate advanced knowledge from science and the humanities to provide mental/behavioral health care to diverse populations.
  2. Promote the use of quality measures to create a culture of safety and to meet standards of mental/behavioral health care.
  3. Analyze and implement the best evidence and standards of practice as a basis for clinical decisions.
  4. Communicate, collaborate, and consult other health professionals to manage and coordinate mental/behavioral health care.
  5. Analyze and incorporate broad ecological and social determinates to plan, deliver, and manage evidence-based prevention and population-based mental/behavioral health care to individuals, families, and groups.
  6. Advocate for policy changes that influence mental/behavioral healthcare at local, state, and federal levels.

Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Clinical Learning Outcomes:

Upon completion of the PMHNP program, the students will:

  1. Demonstrate application of advanced knowledge in the health promotion, disease prevention, diagnosis, and management in psychiatric practice with diverse populations of individuals, groups, and families across the lifespan (Essentials I, IV, IX).
  2. Integrate history, interview, mental health exam, and physical exam data with the knowledge of pathophysiology and psychopathology of acute and chronic disorders across the life span to develop appropriate differential diagnoses, and initiate appropriate patient-centered interventions (Essentials I, IX).
  3. Implement traditional and complementary pharmacological interventions into the treatment and management of psychiatric illnesses (Essentials I, IX).
  4. Include social, cultural, and spiritual components in patient-centered plans of care for patients and families (Essentials I, IX).
  5. Demonstrate core professional values and ethical/legal standards in the implementation of the Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner role (Essentials, I, VIII, IX).
  6. Continue to identify and integrate evidence-based findings to the diagnosis and management of psychiatric illnesses across the life span (Essential IV, IX).
  7. Use self-reflection to evaluate progress in professional development in the role of the nurse practitioner as a member of an interprofessional team (Essential II, VII, VIII, IX).
  8. Analyze patient safety, quality indicators, patient access, cost, and outcome improvement in the delivery of quality mental health care to patients (Essentials I, III).

Featured Courses

 

NURS 505 - Evidence Based Practice I

The course builds on the student's prior basic knowledge of the research process and the application of evidence to the practice setting. At the graduate level, the nurse translates current evidence and identifies gaps where there is insufficient evidence to support practice. The graduate level nurse, as a result of this course, will lead the process of implementing evidence as the basis for practice at all levels of direct and indirect care. This is the first of two courses. This course emphasizes theory as the foundation for research, ethics in research, and qualitative approaches to research.

NURS 551 - Introduction to Clinical Psychiatry and Psychoparmacology

The focus of this course is developing the neuroscientific basis for clinical psychiatry including neuroanatomy, neurochemistry and genetics. This course also includes foundational concepts of psychopharmacology.

NURS 552 - Advanced Mental Health Nursing Concepts & PMHNP Role

The focus of this course is developing the theoretical basis for advanced practice in mental/behavioral health using a holistic perspective to examine the etiology, meaning, and consequences of human behavior and interactions. Additionally, this course provides a foundation of knowledge for the psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner role and responsibilities.

NURS 553 - Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Concepts & Theories I

This course forms the theoretical basis for the competencies of the Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP). This course lays the scientific foundation for independent practice as the RN transitions to the role of the Nurse Practitioner in health promotion, disease prevention, diagnosis, and management of illness in psychiatric patients across the lifespan. The diagnostic evaluation will include the development of interview techniques, mental health examinations, and tools unique to the evaluation of psychiatric, mental, and behavioral health problems. Management of mental/behavioral health problems in individuals will include both pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic interventions, including individual counseling in the patient with serious/persistent mental/behavioral health problems.

NURS 550 - Introduction to Psychotherapy

The focus of this course is developing the theoretical basis for psychotherapy for individual, family, and group settings. This course also includes simulation hours to introduce different therapy modalities including cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy, motivational interviewing, and solution focused brief therapy.

Nursing Department Contacts

Dr. Heather McKnight, DNP, RN, NE-BC
Director of Nursing/Associate Professor
BASS 324
(903) 334-6661
Kristie Avery
Admission Coordinator II
BASS 325
(903) 334-6747